For Vikings' opponents third down has been no charm
In the Vikings’ locker room Thursday, defensive players were rousting teammates to their next meeting. The topic: third down.
Clearly, they’ve been doing their homework.
The Vikings (13-3) enter Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game against the New Orleans Saints with the best third-down defense in the NFL, allowing conversion to a new set of downs 25.2 percent of the time in 16 regular-season games this season. That is the NFL’s best third-down defense in several years, dating at least back to 2002, according to statistics compiled by ESPN.
Saints coach Sean Payton called the Vikings’ effectiveness the perfect blend of scheme and personnel.
“When you put a good scheme and real good players together, that’s what you’re seeing now,” he said this week.
https://www.twincities.com/2018/01/11/for-vikings-opponents-third-down-has-been-no-charm/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Brees will present a challenge; at 38, he’s seen it all in 17 NFL seasons and 12 playoff games, but he’s still one of the quickest passers in football.
Zimmer said quarterbacks are judged on whether they can release a pass within three seconds of the snap; Brees, he said, does it in 2.5 seconds. And while Brees is not a real threat to run — he officially rushed 33 times for 12 yards this season — he moves well in the pocket and seems to have a preternatural sense of where to throw a pass in a pinch.
Asked how he might attack Brees, Zimmer said, “I don’t want to give away my rush plan. You just have to try to affect him.” Sacking him, he acknowledged, will be difficult. His players understand that, Zimmer said.
“He’s only been sacked 20 times, and typically he’s getting the ball out in 2.5 seconds, so they understand,” he said. “Part of it is talking to them about continuing to rush, and part of it is we’ve got to be tight in the coverage. If we can get him to pull it down, to get to 3.0 (seconds), then we have a chance to hit him.”
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